Samsung Galaxy Note 4 launches with QHD screen and uprated stylus

Samsung has announced the Galaxy Note 4 - a massive 5.7-inch phone with an improved S Pen stylus and a screen resolution far higher than any other Samsung handset.

Revealed at the company’s Unpacked media event in Berlin, the Galaxy Note 4 has a QHD screen, which means a resolution of 2560 x 1440 - the same as the hugely impressive LG G3 and far higher than the 1920 x 1080 Galaxy S5. This means images are sharper, text is smoother and more rounded, while HD video will look incredible.

The phone has the same soft-touch back as seen on the previous Note, but now there’s a metal frame, just like that on the Galaxy Alpha.

A mightier S Pen

Improvements to the S Pen stylus mean it is twice as sensitive as the previous model, with 2048 levels of sensitivity helping to make writing on the Note’s screen feel more natural than before.

Further improvements to the S Pen mean it can now be used like a mouse; hold the button on its side and drag the tip across images to select several at once, or across paragraphs of text to copy it. Release the button and press it again over another section of text to copy several chunks at once.

The Note 4’s S Pen can also be used to enter the multi-screen mode, where two apps can be open at once, next to each other; simply drag the edges of each app to adjust their size and shape.

Power comes from a 2.7GHz quad-core processor with 3GB of RAM and 32GB of storage. The phone is 8.5mm thick and weighs 176g.

Sharper shooter

The Note 4’s rear camera has a 16-megapixel sensor and features optical image stabilisation, which not only keeps images sharper and videos smoother, but it also aides low-light photography by keeping the lens steady and therefore the shutter open for longer, capturing more light and producing brighter and more detailed images without using the flash.

Samsung has also improved the Note’s front camera, upping the megapixel count to 3.7 and widening the viewing angle from 77 to 90 degrees to make more space in your selfies.

Faster charging

The Note 4’s battery can be charged much more quickly than its year-old predecessor, with Samsung claiming a recharge from zero to 50% takes around 30 minutes - half that of the Note 3. On top of that, the 4’s battery life has been lengthened by 7.5%

Finally, the Galaxy Note 4 has three new microphones to make audio and video recordings better than ever. They can record from eight separate directions and the audio from each direction can be heard louder than the rest - ideal for meetings with several people speaking, or for journalists who need to hear the person they’re interviewing more clearly than themselves.

The Note 4 will be available in black, white, gold and pink - plus two crystal-clad special editions designed by Swarovski; Samsung hasn’t yet stated a price for the Note 4, but says it will be available in October.

As for accessories, Samsung will be offering a number of cases for the Note 4, and two high-end styluses from luxury pen maker Mont Blanc.

Mobile Choice will be trying the Note 4 out for ourselves later this week, so come back soon for our hands-on first impressions.